Cross Country Skiing

Self-taught here - both striding and skating. When I was 9 my parents borrowed skis from some friends, and Dad took us each out in the yard, one at a time (only 2 pairs) to see if we liked it. We did. When our own skis showed up, the poles were back-ordered, so we went out around the yard without them for a few days (which is a very very good way to learn technique!). My sister later turned to downhill (and lives in Texas now), but Mom & Dad and I are still at it, 35 years later.

It can definitely be done without lessons. I don't really agree that skating is more technique-driven, though. I think it is more strength driven, and so you feel it more if you aren't doing it correctly. Well, actually, I think you have to have the strength before you can have the technique, if that makes any sense. I've always thought striding was more technical - it's just that you can shuffle along from Point A to Point B with really poor technique. An awful lot of people really don't have any kick at all, and just shuffle. Which is fine, by the way, as long as it is fun!

I say, go out and give it a try, and then see if you want to take lessons later. Get a feel for the skis first, anyway, or you'll be wasting your time and money on a lesson, when you're just trying to get comfortable standing on the things that first time.

Have fun! :D

I started classic skiing last year. I'm an alpine skier who was in a season long women's clinic. One of the instructors is an awesome Nordic skier, she tried out for the PSIA demo team. She offered lessons after our downhill lessons and they were wonderful. I learned to glide and other basic skills necessary for classic skiing. I even rode the beginner chairlift! The hardest part is getting your balance but that came pretty quickly for me.

I bought skis and boots a few years ago but didn't use them until last year. I've used them about 10 times, enough to know they aren't right for me. Unlike alpine skis, the size of nordic skis are by weight. My skis were rated below 140 lbs. They are too stiff for my mere 105 lbs so I just bought another pair, women's, that are rated 90-120 lbs. Trying to figure out the correct ski for me has been the hardest part of this venture.

I’m really enjoying this sport, it's great for weekends when the slopes are crowded and good exercise. Here's some websites that I found useful as a beginner.

http://www.xcskiworld.com/equip/equip_5minute.htm
http://www.xcskiworld.com/training/Technique/intro.htm
http://www.xcskiworld.com/training/T...ue/classic.htm

Specifically for women, scroll down to XC Clinic for Women.
http://www.xcskiresorts.com/WomenXCEvents2.html

As one of the articles points out, learning on a groomed course is probably the best place to start. A lesson or 2 will help to get you on your way. Have fun, it's a great sport.

Groomed means the snow is packed down, a wide area for skate skiing, 2 tracks for classic skiing. I use the tracks to glide in flat areas and easy uphills and downhills. For herringboning uphill and snowplowing downhill I use the skate skiing area.

I mostly stay out of the set tracks at groomed areas. I'm more used to backcountry skiing and find the tracks too wide. Also, I frequently find the tracks glazed and not gripping my wax as well as the snow outside the tracks.

It's true back country skis are too wide for the tracks. One of the times I went with an AMC group to Windblown, one woman had bc skis because they were more comfortable than her regular ones. She spent the whole time skiing in the skating lane and was miserable. By the end, she couldn't keep up, even with me. My new skis are wider than my old ones, but still fit in the tracks.
I wouldn't mind doing some back country skiing, but it would require different skis. Not this year...
Until then, I prefer to ski in the tracks on the flats and little uphills and downhills, but serious climbing/descending in the skate lane.

My backcountry skis are a tad wide for the tracks. But regardless of that, I think the distance between the 2 tracks is too wide. It's just uncomfortable to have to keep my feet that far apart. It's not a natural stride. And I've done many many all-day backcountry ski tours.

I'll probably be at Windblow this Saturday unless it's going to raining all day.

Skied my new women's specific skis today. Wow, what a difference over my unisex skis. My balance was better, gliding, climbing and snowplowing so much easier. I skied an advanced beginner trail backwards and went down a pretty steep hill without problems. I felt very secure and confident on these skis.

The width of the tracks don't bother me, probably because I'm used to the width of 78-96 mm alpine skis. At first the narrowness of the skis and lack of support from the boots was much more disconcerting to me.

We don't have the freezing and thawing here that you have in the east so groomed trails here are soft, not icy and the tracks don't get very wide.

My nordic center has a designated place for learning. Tracks and a groomed area on flat terrain, very nice for beginners. Also, a good place to practice gliding witout poles.

After years of alpine skiing I'm excited to discover a new way to enjoy snow.

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Originally Posted by nscrbug

I'm glad to hear that some of you are self-taught skiers...which is probably the route we will end up taking. It's nice to know that it IS possible to learn this on our own...as I doubt my hubby would be up for taking formal lessons. :rolleyes:

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I'm self-taught too, although now I'm racing I've taken some coaching which has made an enormous amount of difference.

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Originally Posted by Skierchickie

I've always thought striding was more technical - it's just that you can shuffle along from Point A to Point B with really poor technique. An awful lot of people really don't have any kick at all, and just shuffle. Which is fine, by the way, as long as it is fun!

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My thoughts too - somehow getting decent skating technique has been so much more difficult than sorting out my classic ski-ing.

This is really good timing. My husband wants us to cross country ski, but he wants to buy the equipment from craigs list sellers, and I'm nervous about doing that. I imagine with technology changes we might have a hard time matching up the bindings with the shoes we have to get new. I just won't wear other people's stuff on my feet!
The trails we have access to are un-groomed and hilly, but I see a lot of ski tracks out there when I'm snowshoeing.

My husband and I started classic skiing last year, and are having a load of fun! We were able to purchase a package deal from REI at a really reasonable price. you also may want to look into closeout because the winter is coming to an end. Personally, I skipped craigslist because I don't know enough about the equipment to purchase used.

You could go in the trails other people blaze and wouldn't have to worry too much about ski type - but it you're going to be trail breaking, back country type skis help a lot.

If you're doing steep downhills or so... you probably want a backcountry binding or something a bit more robust, but otherwise normal bindings aren't too bad.

I've just been collecting pieces over the years when I've found them on sale cheap, and finally got around to mounting the skis thsi winter... And while I did have nnn bc, nnn, and sns bc bindings & boots to go with most, which are all the newer styles... I went ahead and just put the old style 3 pin bindings on the skis because of the reviews I was reading of many that had switched to the new styles of bindings and then just went back to the old 3 pins. Mostly it was because I don't really expect to be in tracks (I just go to the closest mountain to me) and I do want a solid connection if I downhill something steep with them. I can add a cable to my bindings to hold my skis to it. If I ever see longer narrower skis cheap, I'll mount some of the new style bindings to them and those can be my groomed trail skis. But we rarely have winters this snowy around here, so it maybe a few years before I get to really use these skis again.

So I don't think getting the skis used on craigslist makes a huge difference or not with response to binding styles.. just depends on what you want the skis for...

REI does have some salomon cross country ski boots at a good price now.. but it might be limited sizes.

I think the type of skis you get makes a big difference in how well you'll do out there. If you're going to be mostly at a groomed area then get skinny skis that will fit in the tracks. There's more to track skis than just the width, though. Do you want waxless or waxable? Are the conditions where you are mostly soft or icy? Depending on that you'd want a softer or stiffer ski.

If you're going to be out in the backcountry are you going to be cruising through easier terrain or going up and down the steeper hills? If you're going to be cruising than a medium width, medium stiffness, waxless ski is fine. If you're going to be pushing it more, step up to a metal edge for more control when you're traversing or turning. If you're going to challenge the steeps, you want a wide ski with a metal edge and probably skins for ascending. You'll want beefy boots and bindings for those skis, too. The conditions: powder vs ice, will also determine how stiff a ski you want.

IMHO it's better, when you're starting out to spend some time in a store with knowledgeable sales people so you end up with the best gear for what you want to do. It may end up costing a bit more than Craigslist, but you'll be happier in the long run.

BeccaB, Unlike alpine boots that work with any bindings your boots must match with you binding. If your boots are NNN then your bindings must be NNN. A NNN Back country boot will not work with NNN bindings meant for classic skis. Salomon SNS boots will not work with NNN bindings. Also some skis have tracks that are already mounted to the skis and only certain bindings will fit on them. I didn't study skate ski boots and bindings.

Then you have to find a boot that fits well!

Unless you know what boots and bindings work together it's better to buy from a store such as REI or the numerous online nordic stores.

The boots that fit me well required an NNN binding. I bought my original skis flat (no binding) so I had options with my boots meaning whatever boots I bought the binding were matched to them. My new skis came with the binding and I made sure they were NNN so I could use my old boots.

I hope this makes sense, it was all very confusing to me and I spent a lot of time searching on the internet trying to sort all of this out.

You could buy you boots from a retailer, my boots have the type of binding marked on the bottom and then get your skis from Craiglist. Be sure to do research on the skis and bindings and make sure the skis are appropriate for you weight and intended use.

Also, find out how many times used skis have been used. With use all skis lose their camber, or flex. My downhill skis with 200 days of skiing don't ski the same as a new ski of the same model. I don't know how much use a nordic ski will take but I'm sure they have some type of life span.

They didn't have much is stock at the REI store, but MC sporting goods is having a sale and I was told that they always have at least one person working in the store who can answer ski questions at any time. Hopefully they'll have enough in stock that there's something to work with.

The REI's near me don't have any cross country gear in store... you can order. And the guys in the ski shop don't seem very knowledgable... One of them was swearing to me that all BC boots were compatible, and you could use SNS bc boots with NNN bc ones. They didn't have boots or bindings around for me to point out he was wrong.

The guy at REI needs this article!

http://www.nordicskisource.com/XC_Sk...gs_s/64217.htm.

or REI's "expert" article

http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/arti...ring+gear.html

Wow, the REI I got my skis at had very knowledgeable sales people who ski all of the time. He even didn't try to convince me to get new boots with my new skis. Most people get the back country boots with the shorter, wider, edged skis I bought, but my last experience trying these boots left me with bloody feet. So, I am keeping my soft classic ski boots as the bindings were the same. I might eventually try again, but since I am not really skiing in deep snow, it's fine. I do think that the bc boot might give me more stability on steep downhills, but it will wait until next year, at least.
And, the store still had lots of skis left, although you could tell the season is winding down.
What I like about REI is that you can return the stuff you buy, no questions asked. When I bought the above bloody boots, I returned them, and the skis, for something different.

5 REI stores in the greater Washington DC area. Only 1 of them has a ski shop, which has been a "pilot" program for the last few years.

Actual cross country skiing is really not available for at least a 4 hour drive from the place normally - drive to western md, west va, and some parts of Pennsylvania.

Closest down hill skiing or snowboarding is probably a 2 hour drive.

So in their defense, the average ski shop employee here ... Possibly hasn't done too much skiing or cross country. And given that they don't carry any of the cross country gear in store, hasn't really had the opportunity to look at too much of it.

I've been living in this area so long that I forget that most people don't have easy access to knowledgeable cross country shops. In my town of 14,000 people we have 2 dedicated cross country shops and a backcountry shop.

My experience with REI lately has been fairly disappointing. They seem to have focused on fashion and less on having good, serviceable equipment with sales people who actually do the sports. *sigh*

Went for what might be my last x country ski today up at Windblown. We got there early and started skiing around 9:30 AM and skied until 11:30. It was pretty good and they have an amazing amount of snow. The temperature was about 40 when we got finished, and somehow, the snow is just not as much fun when it's that warm, although the grooming was excellent. Still getting used to turning and descending on the new skis. For some reason, I feel less confident. It just feels different and I know my form looks awful.
We skied almost all of the blue trails and went up one ungroomed trail to the view spot (I think it was for snow shoes and didn't see the sign), which was like back country.
We're supposed to get a couple of "near miss" storms this week, but overall, it looks like it will be in the forties next weekend. The bike is calling...

I was at Windblown yesterday, and it was snowing most of the day, rather hard for an hour or so. The snow was excellent, but getting skied out and glazed by the end of the day, so I didn't expect it to be so good today. I was there 9-5 and skied up the zigzags to the top of the open slope, and probably all the blue and green trails. Just did an hour on the bike today.

Wow, you gals are amazing. We went to our local area today and skied about 3 miles. That was enough.

We're still looking for a good dump of snow. March is Colorado's snowiest month. There still is 7 weeks left of skiing (downhill) and I hope, XC.

Sounds like Windblown is very crowded. We saw 5 skiers today and 4 women starting out when we were leaving. Wed. there were 4 or 5 other skiers besides my friend and myself.

However, we do have 5 nordic ski areas within a half hour drive of us.

Wow, I am in awe of anyone who can go to the top of the open slope, Deb. The black trails at Windblown are really like downhill slopes and I am not good enough for that! I did do the blue part of the open slope today for the first time, though.
Yes, it does get crowded at Windblown, especially on Sundays, because they have snow even when there's nothing in the greater Boston area. But, once you get away from the green trails and the teaching area, you only see a few people, even when the parking lot is full. It's only an hour away, which is nice in that it's possible for me to go there for the morning, as I did today, and still be able to have part of the day to do other stuff. Our original intention was to go there Saturday, like Deb, because I knew the conditions would be great, but I was feeling really lazy and lounged around in bed and had a nice breakfast instead. So, I ended up doing a workout on the trainer plus yoga.
I am feeling like I would like to do another weekend up in Craftsbury, Vt., but I just had the first person sign up for a ride we are leading on 4/10, so I have to get my butt out on the bike.

I'm not even thinking cycling at this point. Our downhill pass allows free xc skiing at the nordic center. Biking won't be on my radar until late April or early May, after the ski areas close. Bikes need tuneups but I'm not home enough to get them in to the LBS. Last year the weather here in May was pretty cold and rainy so my cycling was slowed down.

However, I have 50 days of downhill skiing and 8 days of XC. Hopefully, the xtraining will transfer to the bike.

We went out for a 2 1/2 hour classic ski yesterday at the Tahoe Donner Cross Country ski area. We chose the track skis over the skaters because it was going to get warm and the skating was going to be a drag.

My SO was feeling ambitious, so we went out to the far hut at the XC center. The total was about 1400 feet of climbing. Whew.

We took our time and stopped to check out the view at the warming hut before we headed back down to the lodge. Overall it was a great ski on a beautiful day (and our 10th anniversary).

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Originally Posted by Kathi

I'm not even thinking cycling at this point.

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Me neither! Our best skiing is typically in March and April. I have my one and only race this year coming up in a couple of weeks - 50k Great Bear Chase. I'm really looking forward to it! I usually race a lot more, but this year I was rehabbing my broken ankle, so I gave it some extra time. Feels pretty good now! Even on my 84k a couple of weekends ago. I am looking forward to biking, but I have some serious skiing to do first - probably late April or so. Skiing is too awesome when the snow has had a chance to transform, as long as you can get out early enough in the day, before it starts softening up. Fast & effortless.

Awesome climbing, Roadie Gal! I'm pretty sure striding up that would kill me - my arms wimp out pretty quickly because I don't do it enough. For me, skating would have been easier, even if the snow was slow. Is that all one continuous climb? Happy anniversary!

It was pretty much continuous.

I'm trying to get better with my technique and not use my arms so much.

It's embarrassing when you step forward and slide back.

Eek! It was almost 50 today, after several days in the 40s. It's supposed to continue through the week, except instead of clear and sunny, it's supposed to cloud up and possibly rain a little later in the week. Clear = good, clouds = bad, even at 45 (clouds trap the warm air in, and it makes the snow mushier). Even at lows of 35 or so the last few days, the skiing has been fast and wonderful in the mornings.

My main concern is that the only race I'm doing this season is on Saturday. 50k. Rain Friday followed by clouds and 33 overnight (current forecast) could mean sucky snow, especially on the second lap.

Anybody else still skiing?

Me! I skied on Wed. It was warm and sunny but the mtns got snow last night.Will xc tomorrow and downhill on Wed and Thurs. Not sure about xc but plan to downhill until mid April when the ski areas close.

I'm done for the year... Windblown is closing tomorrow, although I suspect the conditions will be less than desireable. I had the chance to go there with a group, but I have a paper to write.
I guess I will have to wait until next year to get used to my new skis!

I did a double dose of XC today. We got an unexpected 5 inches of new snow last night, so I couldn't resist. First I went out for 1 1/2 hours of easy rambling on my touring skis with the dogs. Then I went over to the cross country center and powered up and down hills at about a medium effort on my track skis for an hour.

Now I'm going out to eat!

I have been doing lots of skiing this year, both skate and classic. We have not had as much snow as usual but the local nordic center where DH and I go has had great conditions. We usually go out for 4-5 hours. It has been a blast. I am going to miss it when it is over. However we are planning on skiing well in to April and May in the backcountry. We primarly use waxable skis but for the sprin DH just got us waxless skis.. Wooo Hooo

For my b-day at the end of February we did a ski tour from Breck to Frisco which is about 10 miles. It was a nice tour and a beautiful bluebird day. If any of my fellow CO TEers are interested I can give you the Beta.

Ahhh, what a great day! Skied about 19K this morning, and then road biked 23 miles this afternoon. My coldest ride ever, I think, at about 28 degrees F, but sunny & wonderful! It's transition season - it was 50-60 for most of the week, so skiing after work was just to get out and tool around in the sunshine, but nice and solid today. The snow is going faster than usual this year, after skiing through April last season. It's been a weird season, light on snow and warmer than usual. I suppose now that I've said that, tomorrow we'll get one of our usual March snowstorms and get about 3 feet of wet, heavy stuff.:rolleyes:

Anyone else dreaming about skiing?
There was 18 inches of snow at Mt. Mansfield this past weekend, although it's a bit unusual, even for Vermont.
I am hoping the crappy time I had with my new skis will settle itself out.

Oh heck yes! Our new skis just showed up today. I can't wait to get home and check them out!

Anyone wanna teach me? :) I'm hoping this gets added to the list of things I'm allowed to try.

Right after I posted yesterday on this thread, I got my first Facebook post of the year from the x country ski center I go to. They are getting ready for the season!

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Originally Posted by jessmarimba

Anyone wanna teach me? :) I'm hoping this gets added to the list of things I'm allowed to try.

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I go quite a bit, both backcountry and at a local nordic center. What are you interested in?? Skate or Classic?

Eesh, I have no idea? I've only seen it on tv. Does one involve less upper-body twisting than the other?

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Originally Posted by Crankin

Anyone else dreaming about skiing?

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Always. Already bought my punch passes and have been thinking about skiing since, oh, about mid-July. We've had such a mild summer and fall...I hope we have a good winter (meaning LOTS of snow).

I want some new skate skis. Either that or I need to gain some weight. And since I really don't want to gain weight, then I think I need some new skis. :rolleyes: But then the weight gain seems to be happening regardless...